Best Award Travel for Families

Author: Matthew

May 21, 2025

If you're trying to book business class award seats for a family, you've probably run into the same wall most people hit: airlines often release only two business class seats per flight. That’s become the industry norm. Great for couples, but unfortunate for families.

And while it's technically possible to find more than two seats, it requires a strategy and and knowing which airline programs are worth your time. We'll dive into some popular programs to look at and some strategies for doing award family travel.

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Programs that Work Well for Families

1) Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Not only is Flying Blue usually the easiest for finding business class seats to Europe, it also is the best for families. Usually you can find business class for 60,000 points one-way AND they often release more than two business class eats on the same flight - so you could do 4 or even a group of 6 if available. It does change frequently, so if you're flexible with dates or routes, you'll have a betters shot at finding all those seats together.

Finally, award tickets for children are 25% off, making the deal even sweeter.

2) Air Canada Aeroplan

Aeroplan gives you a big advantage when searching Star Alliance availability. You can often see exactly how many award seats are available on partner airlines, which is a huge plus when you're trying to plan for a group. Air Canada also occasionally opens up 4+ seats on its own flights and partners, which makes it pretty valuable. And it's overal pretty solid for domestic United flights with a number of a seats.

Children under 12 also get a discount on the points redemption.

3) Southwest Rapid Rewards

We've talked about Southwest Companion Pass a lot, but basically you can get BOGO flights by having this pass - and there's a way to do it with two credits cards to get it for two years. So if you're a family of 4 - both parents can get the Companion pass to help you halve the number of points/cash needed for family trips. Obviously this is just for domestic trips, but it can be very helpful.

To sweeten the deal, you can transfer points from Chase and BILT to make it easy to build up a balance.

Strategies for Booking Award Travel as a Family

1) Book Early

Most airlines release their first batch of award seats 11-12 months in advance. If you’re trying to get more than two business class seats, this is when you have the best shot.

Even if you’re not 100% sure on dates, lock something in early, you can usually change or cancel later (depending on the program).

2) Split the Booking

Only seeing two seats? Try booking 1 adult + 1 child together, then the rest on a second reservation. Sometimes this unlocks different inventory, especially on partner airlines.

Bonus: if there’s a schedule change, you might be able to call in and move everyone onto the same (better) flight.

3) Book Premium Economy, Then Upgrade

If business class just isn’t available, premium economy is often a good middle ground. More space, better food, and depending on the airline, you might be able to upgrade to business later with miles or cash.

Check the upgrade rules first since some programs make it easy, others… not so much.

4) Watch for More Seats Closer to Departure

Airlines don’t always release all award seats at once. Sometimes 3-4 weeks before a flight, they’ll open up more if they haven’t sold well.

Tools like Seats.aero or ExpertFlyer can help you monitor for these last-minute changes without manually checking every day.

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